Bengaluru sweetmaker with 18 outlets under fire over death of two young manual scavengers: Report

The incident occured on Thursday evening at the Asha Sweet Centre's factory unit located in the Sompura Industrial Area near Dobbaspet.

Published on: Nov 2, 2024, 12:23:44 IST

By HT News Desk

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A well-known sweetmaker in Bengaluru, with 18 outlets across the city, is facing serious allegations following the tragic deaths of two young men reportedly engaged in manual scavenging at its factory, Deccan Herald reported.

According to the DH report, the incident occured on Thursday evening at the Asha Sweet Centre's factory unit located in the Sompura Industrial Area near Dobbaspet. The victims, Lingaraju and Naveen, both 26 years old, hailed from Tumakuru and Anantapur, respectively.

In the wake of the incident, Bengaluru police have apprehended two individuals: Santhosh, the site in-charge, and Ramesh, the owner of JRR Aqua Pvt Ltd., a subcontractor responsible for the factory’s sewage treatment plant (STP). Authorities are also searching for Mayur, the owner of Asha Sweet Centre, who has been named as the second accused in the First Information Report (FIR), the report added.

A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 has been registered.

According to police investigations, Lingaraju and Naveen were working with JRR Aqua Pvt Ltd when they descended into the sewage treatment plant. According to police as reported by Deccan Herald, it is suspected that they succumbed to the stench, fumes, and chemicals almost immediately.

What law says?

As per Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, no person or agency can engage or employ any person for manual scavenging and any person or agency who engages in manual scavenging is punishable with imprisonment up to 2 years or a fine up to ₹one lakh or both.

This act defines hazardous cleaning and manual scavenging in specific terms to ensure the safety and dignity of sanitation workers.

In August, the Union Social Justice and Empowerment ministry said around 453 people have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 2014 despite 732 out of India's 766 districts declaring themselves free from manual scavenging. Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale highlighted the states' achievements in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

(Also Read: Deaths due to manual scavenging: CBO gets 24 hrs to respond to show cause notice)

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